Plans · Business

Open a café

16 weeks · 5 phases · 34 tasks · 5 milestones · 6 risks

For a small team opening one café, from a rough idea to opening day. The first weeks settle the money and the site, the middle weeks run permits, fit-out and hiring side by side, and the last weeks are training and a soft opening. Stretch the fit-out weeks if your site needs heavy work.

Open this in Harbor

Makes it a program in your harbor, dated from today.

Milestones

Week 6Lease signed
Week 12Health inspection passed
Week 12Opening team hired
Week 15Soft opening
Week 16Opening day

The plan, phase by phase

1. Concept and money

Weeks 1 to 3. Decide what the café is and prove the numbers can work before you commit to a site.

Week 1Write a one-page conceptMenu style, opening hours, price point and who you expect through the door.
Week 1Build a simple financial modelStartup costs, monthly fixed costs, and the daily sales you need to break even.
Week 2Talk to an accountant about structure and bookkeeping
Week 2Count foot traffic in three candidate neighborhoodsCount at the hours you plan to open, on a weekday and a weekend.
Week 3Line up fundingKnow which of savings, a loan or investors covers what, and when the money lands.

2. Site and lease

Weeks 3 to 6. Find a site that fits the concept and sign a lease you can live with.

Week 3View at least five sitesVisit the favorites twice, once at the busiest hour you expect.
Week 4Check each site's permitted use with the local planning officeA space that was never a food business may need a change of use, which takes time.
Week 4Get a building survey on the preferred site
Week 5Negotiate the leaseAsk for a rent-free period during fit-out and a break clause.
Week 5Have a lawyer review the lease
Week 6Sign the lease

3. Permits and fit-out

Weeks 6 to 12. Get the paperwork moving early and turn the empty space into a working café.

Week 6Hire a contractor who has fitted out food premises beforeAsk to see a finished café of theirs and call its owner.
Week 6Apply for the food business registration your council requiresApply as soon as the lease is signed; the inspection can't happen until it's in.
Week 7Apply for any signage, building or alcohol permits you need
Week 7Finalize the layout with the contractor
Week 7Order the espresso machine, grinders and refrigerationCommercial equipment often has a lead time of several weeks.
Week 8Arrange business insurance
Week 9Set up utilities, internet and card paymentsSome providers need a few weeks to connect a new account.
Week 11Finish the fit-out
Week 11Book the health inspection
Week 12Pass the health inspectionWalk the kitchen with the inspector's checklist the week before.

4. Menu, suppliers and team

Weeks 8 to 14. Settle what you sell, who supplies it, and who serves it.

Week 8Choose a coffee roaster and run tastings
Week 9Open accounts with food, dairy and packaging suppliersConfirm delivery days and minimum orders before you set opening hours.
Week 10Cost every menu itemKnow the margin on each item before the menu is printed.
Week 10Post job ads for baristas and kitchen staff
Week 12Interview and hire the opening teamInclude a paid trial shift before making the offer.
Week 13Write opening and closing checklists
Week 14Train the team on the machine and the menuHave every barista make each drink on the menu until it's consistent.

5. Launch

Weeks 13 to 16. Rehearse with real customers, fix what breaks, then open.

Week 13Set up your map listing and social accounts
Week 15Order opening stockOrder a little less than you think; you can top up after the first days.
Week 15Run a friends-and-family soft openingRun real service with real orders so you find the slow spots.
Week 15Fix what the soft opening exposed
Week 16Open the doors
Week 16Review the first week's sales and waste

What usually goes wrong

Fit-out runs over time and budget
Older buildings hide plumbing, electrical and ventilation problems that only show up once work starts.
What helps: Get a building survey before signing the lease. Hold back a contingency in the fit-out budget and don't spend it on finishes.
Likelihood 4 of 5 · impact 4 of 5
Permits or inspection come late
You pay rent on a space you aren't allowed to trade from.
What helps: Apply the week the lease is signed and call to check progress every week. Ask the council early what the inspection covers.
Likelihood 3 of 5 · impact 4 of 5
Cash runs out before sales settle
The first months are often slower than forecast while every cost is already running.
What helps: Open with at least three months of fixed costs in reserve, kept separate from the fit-out budget.
Likelihood 3 of 5 · impact 5 of 5
The location doesn't bring enough customers
Rent is fixed for years, and a quiet street can't be fixed with a better menu.
What helps: Count foot traffic at your planned hours before signing, and talk to neighboring businesses about their busy and slow times.
Likelihood 2 of 5 · impact 5 of 5
Key equipment arrives late
Without the espresso machine or refrigeration you can't open.
What helps: Order by week 7 and get delivery dates in writing. Ask your roaster whether they can lend a machine if yours is delayed.
Likelihood 3 of 5 · impact 3 of 5
Staff leave in the first weeks
Opening is hard work, and losing a trained barista leaves gaps in the rota straight away.
What helps: Hire one more person than the rota strictly needs and pay on time from day one.
Likelihood 3 of 5 · impact 3 of 5

Using it

Copy what fits and cut what doesn’t: no real project matches a template. In Harbor the plan becomes a program with these milestones, one project holding every task with its due date, and these risks in the register, all yours until you hand them out. The first phase starts in To do and the rest wait in the backlog.

Open this in Harbor

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